They are the subject of many legends that directly link their creation to Pandavas, the heroes of the Indian epic Mahabharata.
[5] Visitors to Kedarnath shrine, the first of the Panch Kedar temples for which records are available, was an impressive 557,923 in 2007 as against 87,629 in 1987, a quantum jump in 20 years.
[6] It is said that the Panch Kedar Yatra (pilgrimage) could be directly related to the Gorakhnath Sampradaya (recognized for their pilgrim traditions) of Nepal.
As a proof, it is stated that the culmination of the pilgrimage was at Pashupatinath temple in Nepal, rightly where Shiva's head is worshipped and not at Kedarnath where the hump is venerated.
[7] Many folk legends related to the Garhwal region, Shiva and the creation of the Panch Kedar temples are narrated.
They wished to atone for the sins of committing fratricide (gotra hatya) and Brāhmanahatya (killing of Brahmins — the priest class) during the war.
On the advice of Krishna, they handed over the reins of their kingdom to their kin and left in search of Shiva and to seek his blessings.
But, Shiva wanted to avoid them as he was deeply incensed by the death and dishonesty at the Kurukshetra war and was, therefore, insensitive to Pandavas' prayers.
Consequently, the bull was torn asunder into five parts and appeared at five locations in the Kedar Khand of Garhwal region of the Himalayas.
The five temples lie ensconced in the region of the Upper Himalayas with the high, snow-covered hill ranges of the Nanda Devi, Chaukhamba, Kedarnath and Neelkanth peaks forming their backdrop.
[3] Tunganath has an impressive backdrop of the peaks of Panchulli, Nanda Devi, Dunagiri, Kedarnath and Bandar Poonch.
[11] The Panch Kedar temples are accessible by only from the nearest road heads but in different directions, lengths and scale of difficulty (ruggedness, steepness and snow cover).
Garhwal region is where the most worshipped Ganga River and its many tributaries originate adding to the reverence of the Panch Kedar temples.
[11] The total trek length to cover all the five temples of Panch Kedar is about 170 km (110 mi) (including road travel up to Gaurikund), involving 16 days of effort.
After the Tunganath trek, the drive along the road up to Mandal (known Cherrapunji of Garhwal due to heavy rainfall) is for a distance of8 km (5.0 mi).
From Helang, the trek to Kalpeshwar temple is for 11 km (6.8 mi) via Urgam village and is considered strenuous due to the steepness of the route.